Spectrevision Radio

Welcome to Weird Studies, an arts and philosophy podcast with hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martel.

For more episodes or to support the podcast, go to weird studies. This is Phil. This week, J.F. and I are discussing an idea that's almost too big to talk about, which is maybe why we haven't talked about it very directly on this show, even though it informs just about everything we say and think. It's the idea of radical mystery. The idea that the unknown, the hidden, the obscure, does not represent a flaw

in our knowledge, but is rather a positive and unexpungible quality of things and events.

But if radical mystery is not defined merely by a lack of qualities, what then are the qualities

that define it? Stay tuned to find out.

We talk about our favorite kinds of tea,

a guy I know who almost died in a cave,

JF's terrifying experience with a malevolent radiator,

my own experience with an Eldrich, imaginable flute, and lots more.

This episode was prompted by a conversation I had with the editor

of a forthcoming collection of musicological essays, one of which is my own, The Devils on Your Side,

on the shady business of Hermeneutics, an earlier draft of which you can find on our Patreon.

This exchange with my editor prompted me in turn to write another essay,

Radical Mystery, a preliminary account, which is also on our Patreon.

You know, there might be a pattern here.

If you're thinking to yourself, geez, it sounds like I'll need to sign up to the weird

studies Patreon to get the full story here.

Keep following that train of thought. These days, the free

flagship show, you know, like this one, is but the iceberg-like protuberance of a discourse

playing out on the Patreon, on the fan discord, on the subreddit, and increasingly in live events.

As a matter of fact, I have two such events to announce.

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